Tooo late, meta and Chipsticks, MP is tied for first, and was just trying to be witty and quick. All quiet around here, cold enough to snow, but do we have the moisture? Seattle waits through the night in suspense! Well, maybe someone in Seattle might have a glass of Shiraz nearby. Maybe.

I wasn’t at work this day, but a lady asked why the dinosaur books were in the 500s rather than in the 398s with all the other folklore like dragons. One of the part timers said, “Well, dinosaurs actually existed.” The patron said, “That really hasn’t been proven yet.”

Love those tweets from GOD. Sure puts a smile on my face. Been very busy today but heard about the great March in North Carolina on twitter. Haven’t heard about it anywhere else. Hope Chips gets some pictures of it on the front page. Funny how all those tea party rallies got full coverage but this Moral March gets nothing.

Watching the movie 42, and wow, wow, wow, Jackie Robinson is a phenomenal human being. We already know he’s an A++++++++ baseball player but as a human being? The man is incredible.

White person after white person calling him the n-word over and over again. Calling him boy. Calling him a monkey. Insulting his wife and child over and over again. Refusing him use of hotel rooms and bathrooms, but feeling smug enough to take his money for their goods and services. On the inside, it tears him up but on the outside, he just keeps on keeping on.

I don’t know how he did it – I would’ve picked up a bat and smashed the crap out of those racists – but I am certainly thankful that he fought the good fight so that millions could have more freedoms.

Multiply his incredible character by the multitude of African-American men just like him, and there you go. Amazing and incredible that they got through life – and still get through life – in such a dignified manner.

I got choked up watching him withstand insult after insult, and he was expected not to respond, not to show emotion, and it made me think of others like him who faced the same and still held their head up high and fought everyday, so that generations would have a better life.

I agree, NW. I have always admired Jackie, but after watching the movie I was so overwhelmed with admiration for both him and his wife. Reminds us of all that POTUS and FLOTUS are having to put up with.

NW, I think Jackie Robinson, like President Obama, had a center inside himself that was unshakable. He knew himself and he wouldn’t allow anyone to trigger reactions that would reinforce their stereotypes and let himself down. Like our president, he learned to flick the hurts off his shoulder and remain true to his core. He was the first, so the barbs were sharper and the racist exclusions more overt. I was in grade school when Robinson was at his peak and was an avid Brooklyn Dodgers fan. I was oblivious to anything he might have been going through, but those of us who loved the Dodgers knew he was the best and cheered when the radio announcer told us he was up at bat. It makes me weepy to remember those great times.

Donna, I wish I knew whether these events were getting local coverage in NC. It really doesn’t matter what we see, it matters what the people of NC see and hear. They are going to have to join hands to rid themselves of the Koch-backed evil that’s infested their state. If they’re hearing about these rallies and it gives them inspiration and the will to fight, then they’re serving their purpose.

“But on Saturday there was evidence that many grievances are becoming one. The neglected and the denied are standing up. And if their anger boils all the way to the polls, they will, at last, be heard.”

Different …and exactly the same. I started Stonekettle Station the day that my retirement from the US Navy became official. Prior to that I was a military officer sworn to uphold my oath to the United States, restricted by the Uniform Code of Military Justice and my duty to protect certain classified interests of the government – and to a certain extent, in certain areas, I still am. Those agreements are legally binding for the rest of my life. There are things I won’t write about for exactly that reason, things that I know in intimate detail, but am unable or unwilling to discuss. I don’t in any way begrudge those obligations; I accepted them willingly, I gave my word and my word is good. Period. It would have been unprofessional to write about some of the things I write about, criticisms of government for example, or to offer an opinion on military actions, while still in uniform. “

GE, TOD. For you night owls, West Coasters, and international villagers…….. Bode Miller, who has ran the fastest times in 2/3 practice runs in the downhill, goes for gold at 2 a.m. EST on NBC live stream in the U.S. Watch this insane video of BBC’s reporter narrating the course while holding a POV camera!

Thank you for the God tweets, NW! Yes, we so need to laugh. There’s enough misery all around us, but we don’t have to revel in it all the time – if we have the slightest chance for escape, even for just a few hours on a Saturday night! This is not to diminish real troubles – just the smaller ones that seem to mushroom in our heads if we let ’em!

If any of you have Netflix- I want to recommend a wonderful documentary I watched last night… it will make you laugh- and cry… and feel very good about your fellow human beings: Young@Heart its about a chorus of seniors in MA who travel the world singing.. their average age is 80, the eldest is 92 and they are amazing.

oh wow I didn’t even think to look on youtube, Bob. Their whole story is wonderful.. and their choice of music is awesome & so funny…. and also touching. There is a scene where they sing at a Correctional Facility.. and they go from being hilarious to tear-jerking.

When President Obama speaks, as he frequently does, of the incalculable goodness and talent of Americans, irrespective of age, gender, ethnicity, etc., he is speaking about Americans just like these folk, Sheri, as I know you know. Thank you for sharing them with us!!!

my pleasure Bob… and you are right about POTUS. I see youtube has the video of the second song they sang at the jail: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ouyC24IFlo The first song they sang was so funny: Start a Fire ( I think that’s the name of it) they had both the inmates and the officers cracking up :)

From the TIME article at the link: “The law seems pretty clear to me and the sites along these lines that I’ve looked at the past few months seem to clearly violate Federal Election Commission regulations,” said Paul S. Ryan of the Campaign Legal Center. “In my view it is not the case that these websites clearly and unambiguously show opposition. On the contrary the URLs of these websites would lead a reasonable viewer to think the websites are supporting the candidate.”